Saturday, January 9, 2010

Happy New Year! It's been a while since our last blog, and we wanted to catch everybody up on all things Due West...

We all enjoyed a wonderful holiday season with family and friends; many memories were made. Thank you all for the holiday wishes, gifts, and comments sent. It truly means the world to us to have such thoughtful friends and fans.

So what's the plan for 2010? I'm sure many of you are wondering what our next step is... So let us fill y'all in on what's what.

Running our own record label has proven to be a very challenging adventure, but we are proud of the successes we had in 2009 with our debut single and video "I Get That All The Time". Thank you to all of the country radio stations who got on board with us, and took a chance on an unknown independent. A HUGE thanks goes out to GAC for their support in getting our video seen by so many people. We hope to make you all proud in this new year!

None of 2009 would have been possible without our amazing team of people behind us. Thank you to Larry Pareigis and the whole Nine North promotion staff, Glenn Sweitzer, Jules Wortman, Kristen Palmer, Jason Deere, Nancy Tunick and the MANY others who worked tirelessly on "I Get That All The Time".

Typically the next step in the process is to release a second single to radio, and a follow-up video to the networks. The goal here being to generate enough momentum and artist-awareness to fortify a national album release. We are currently working out the logistics to make this next step happen. It takes a great team of many talented professionals working behind the scenes to accomplish the kind of national exposure that we achieved in 2009 and hope to achieve on an even higher level in 2010. Once these logistics are worked out, we will begin the process of choosing and promoting the second single by visiting radio stations around the country and shooting a second video.

In the mean time, we are also in the process of booking shows around the country, and can't wait to get back out on the road and on the stage! We do enjoy the business end of things, but NOTHING compares to the feeling of playing country music to you all. THAT is what we live for - THAT is why we do all of this!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

On Wednesday, November 11th, 2009, Music City held the 43rd annual CMA Awards Show. For the first time ever, and to our excitement, we were eligible to take part in the day's events.

The day began at 7am with a series of on-air radio interviews with stations from all over the country. Our man Keith Stubbs from 101.5 The Eagle in Salt Lake city did our first interview of the day from the CMT studios in downtown Nashville. It was so great to see Keith here on our turf, and yet be broadcasting back to Salt Lake to some of our biggest and best fans. We ended up doing well over a dozen interviews, or 'remotes' as they call them, before the morning was through.On our way out the door, we had the privilege of dropping by the notorious Gift Room! Inside, we filled our shopping bags with a loot consisting of boutique jewelry, designer boots, spa packages, perfumes, skin products...the works! We were ecstatic! It was also good to be hanging there once again with fellow country music artists such as Clay Walker, Chad Brock, Danielle Peck and Trent Tomlinson.

After the radio remotes, we headed back over to Music Row to relax for a bit and get ready for the Red Carpet. With the help of Cardin & Brooke we headed out looking spiffy! Our good buddy Scott Ford was our chauffeur in his pimped out Toyota truck. He drove us down to the Sommet where the red carpet fans awaited in their multitudes. It was an extra special treat to get out of the truck and actually hear people yelling "Due West!" That felt really good!

The first order of business on the Red Carpet was to sign the 2009 CMA Chevy Camaro. After that, the first few press stops took us a second to get into the groove, and figure out what the heck was going on. By the third or fourth stop, we were smiling, posing, and acting like we'd done this before! :)

It was a blast to be able to answer pretty much the same questions about our song, video and our careers up to this point at each stop. We got into a pretty smooth rhythm. By the end of the Red Carpet, we'd become pros (in our own minds) which worked out great, because that is when we went LIVE on News Channel 5! The minute they informed us of the coveted opportunity to go live, we sent out a frenzy of tweets and text messages to our friends, families and followers. What a rush!

Next it was on to the pre-tel party and dinner where some fancy unrecognizable finger foods were devoured - we were starving! It's a lot of work walking from the curb in to the Sommet. :)

Soon the lights dimmed on and off, notifying us that it was time to take our seats. We made our way through the endless maze of tunnels and elevators into the bowels of the Sommet, daylighting out onto the carpeted, covered Predator ice. We could still feel the chill of the ice through the bottoms of ours boots.

We were a little embarrassed to be walking past some of our fellow songwriter/music industry friends ("Where are you guys going?") as we made our way to our seats, which were almost literally on the stage! ...second row! Upon sitting down, we quickly became acquainted with our neighbors (Due West style - you know how we do it!): Little Jimmy Dickens, Love & Theft, Eric Church, Whisperin' Bill Anderson, and two of The Statler Brothers. It was a surreal moment.

The show was great, the sound was amazing, King George was within arms reach... it couldn't have gotten any better... except for maybe if we were actually in the show. ;)

All in all it was a great day and an amazing end to an incredibly fulfilling year. We feel so blessed. We can only imagine what the scene will be at next year's CMA Awards week!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Friday, October 2, 2009

Tonight we played an acoustic show at the Robeson County Fair in Lumberton, North Carolina - put on by WKML 95.7 fm! Huge shout-out to DeanO, Larry & Don for spinning our record SO MUCH! The place went nuts when we started into the single. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

After we played for about an hour or so, we had the opportunity to hang out and meet a lot of the fair goers; great folks! We shook many hands and took lots of pictures. (y'all better post and tag!)

By the time we packed up and were pulling out of the fair to head back to the hotel, we realized that the GAC Top 20 Countdown hadn't aired our interview yet...we hadn't missed it!! "Where can we find a TV???" Just then we spotted a Ruby Tuesday! One of us jumped out and ran inside to ask the bartender if they had GAC, and if so, if we could watch our interview.

They said yes! We ran inside just in the nick of time to catch it. What a night to remember! All three of our phones were BLOWIN' UP! Texts, voicemails, emails, and tweets! The Due West family was all enjoying a surreal moment TOGETHER in real-time! Awesome. Simply awesome.

Thanks to all you dedicated voters! Let's keep voting and spreading the word; who knows, maybe we all could take this indie country trio called Due West all the way to the #1 spot!

Monday, September 28, 2009

We just got back into Nashville after playing Thunderfest last night; it was a blast! A huge thanks goes out to Captain Jack and all the people at Thunder 98.5 for putting together such a great event, and for bringing Due West out to party with the New Jersey folks!

We can't wait to do it again next year!

Tomorrow we go visit with Nan Kelley at GAC; wish us luck! Our interview will air on Friday night, October 2nd.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

For those of you who were looking forward to a September 15th Due West debut CD release, our sincere apologies. Several things beyond our control have caused for a postponement, but we are working fervently to have it ready for a 2009 release.

If you would like to be notified about the official date, along with other Due West news, you can sign up for our newsletter by clicking HERE.

Also, be sure to follow us on all our social network sites - click HERE.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Tune in to GAC tonight, Friday, August 14th at 8/7 Central to watch the Top 20 Countdown - hosted by Nan Kelley.

Sure, music execs, record sales and radio determine a lot of countdowns, but this countdown is decided by country music fans like you! You decide the Top 20 Country Countdown each week when you vote for your faves at GACTV.com. Tune in every weekend as your host Nan Kelley and her special guests count down the hottest videos in the land!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Due West (seated) hangs on the MusicRow front steps after a well received mini-concert. Standing (L-R): Music Row’s Michelle Ross, Christie King, Sarah Skates, David Ross; Nine North’s Tom Moran; and Music Row’s Jon Freeman. Photo: Pareigis

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Hello friends, family and fans of Due West! We hope everyone is having a wonderful summer.

We wanted to send out an update to bring everyone up to speed on all the great things that continue to move forward in the Due West camp.

Our debut single "I Get That All The Time" has been continuing to climb up the charts as it is getting spun at over 280 radio stations nationwide. We currently sit at #54 on the Billboard chart, and #34 on Music Row. This puts us as the highest charting new independent artist on the Music Row Chart!

With this number of stations playing our song, approximately 1.2 million people every week are hearing Due West on the radio; we love it!

We are excited to appear in Country Weekly magazine as part of their 'New Artists To Watch' feature, which is scheduled to be on newsstands July 13th. Go pick up a copy next Thursday!

We've grown to almost 12,000 friends on MySpace, over 1,000 friends on Facebook, and are tweeting to over 1,200 followers on Twitter. Thanks for all your help!

We continue to visit radio stations around the country, and had a GREAT visit with Sirius/XM this week here in Nashville. Be watching for our debut on satellite radio!

Next week we leave for a run of gigs out in the west with stops in Bear Lake, Idaho - Draper, Utah - Ogden, Utah - and a HUGE show in St. George, Utah where we'll open for Lady Antebellum. There are some big surprises in store for that show; you don't wanna miss that one...trust us!

August 1st we're headed back out to Seattle to play the tailgate party for the Kenny Chesney show at Qwest Field. That will surely be a blast!

The video for "I Get That All The Time" is still being worked on; we've had some slight delays, but we promise it's going to be worth the wait... y'all are gonna LOVE IT!

The best news of all is that we're still having the time of our lives, and couldn't be part of a cooler bunch of people. The whole Due West crew is full of passion and talent, and we're honored to be working side by side with all of them.

To you, the friends, keep up your good work too; thank you for YOUR continued support and love. This is just the beginning of a long musical journey on a roller coaster-ride...headed DUE WEST!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

We have had such an amazing time this year at CMA Music Fest! ..we're so sad it's already over. :(

The week started with the St. Jude Celebrity bowling event out at Hermitage lanes, where we got to meet and bowl with friends, fans and country music celebrities. Some of the artists that were there included: Trent Tomlinson, Lonestar, Jeff Bates, Adam Gregory, Sarah Darling, Buddy Jewel, Danielle Peck, Bo Bice and Megan Mullins.We got to find out who the best bowler of the three us of is - Brad turned in an impressive 143! We won't say who the WORST bowler is, however we will say that Matt bowled a 61 one game. Ouch.The best part of that event was knowing that ALL the proceeds went to benefit the children of St. Jude's Hospital.

Next up was the Music Row Live remotes over at the Tracking Room, where we did an acoustic performance and gave a dozen or so interviews for some radio stations from around the country, who were in town for Music Fest. We even did a TV interview!While we were there, we signed about 30 guitars, hats and other stuff for stations to give away.One of the coolest parts about that day, was the 'gift room' for artists. We got to go into a room with big shopping bags, and pick out boots, sunglasses, jewelry and other stuff - FOR FREE! Wow, we could really get used to this. :)

Later that day was the Chevy Kick-off Parade which routed right down lower Broadway in downtown Nashville. Before the parade, we were walked in, taken care of VIP-style, and got to rub elbows with some of our heroes - like Brady Seals. Being treated like stars is actually very humbling for us; and we are truly grateful for all of this. The actual parade was awesome! Some people were even cheering for us; did they even know us?? :)

Thursday was our autograph signing day at the convention center. Once again we were overwhelmed by the number of 'fans' who showed up to meet us and get a picture with us. VERY COOL. We're already so blessed with such amazing folks, who dig our tunes. Thanks y'all!When we were leaving the convention center, at the artist VIP entrance, we gave the valet boys a 20-dollar bill and a Due West picture, with the message "best tippers of the day" written on it! :) We wanted Reba, Wynonna, Carrie and the like to catch a little glimpse of our mugs on their way in and out. Ha ha! Do you think they even noticed??

We ended our week's festivities with the GeoQuest scavenger hunt. Jim A. and his folks from the Grass Roots team did such an amazing job putting that whole thing together, and the end result was incredible. Todd Thompson of Hendersonville won the electric guitar; way to go Todd!

All in all, we LOVED CMA Music Fest 2009, and can't wait for next year!

Please tune in to our youtube channel, 'duewestmusictv' to see videos from the week.

Also, check out this slideshow from the Due West GeoQuest. (photos by Debbi Tannock)